Carrollton keeps winning as Warriors knock off ranked Beaver Local

Sure, it’s a cliché when you hear that good programs don’t rebuild, they reload.

However, in clichés, truth can often be found. Such is the case with the Carrollton boys’ basketball team. Despite losing four key starters from a year ago, the Warriors continue winning.

Carrollton’s opponents have found out. And now others are taking notice as the Warriors are ranked 24th in the latest Div. IV poll following their 67-58 defeat of 21st-ranked Beaver Local Jan. 3.

All it took was a crazy second quarter in which Carrollton reversed a deficit and took charge of the game. Trailing 22-17 at the close of the opening period, the Warriors outscored the host Beavers 21-7 in the second quarter to take a 38-29 lead into halftime.

Beaver Local made a run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and drew within a few points of Carrollton, but the unflappable Warriors kept their cool and pulled away at the end for the victory.

Offensively, Tayvian Johnson was the man, leading all scorers with 26 points – including going 5-of-11 from three-point land. He also dished out four assists and led the Warriors in steals with four. Hunter Allison and Marcus Brooks each logged double-doubles as Allison scored 13 points and hauled in 12 boards while Brooks added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Lastly, Drew Gero came off the bench and was a cool 3-of-4 from beyond the arc for all nine of his points.

Relatively speaking, it was a quiet night for Jayven Johnson as he scored just four points, but he facilitated scoring by leading Carrollton with five assists and also notched 10 rebounds on a night when the Warriors held a 42-30 advantage on the boards, which translated to 18 second-chance points, eight more than the Beavers (8-2).

Carrollton improves to 6-2 on the season, the Warriors’ only two losses coming at the hands of seventh-ranked Div. IV power Canfield and Alliance, which is ranked fourth in Ohio in Div. III. 

Girls Basketball

Like the boys’ team, the Lady Warriors enjoyed a relatively quiet holiday week, with only one game on the docket as Carrollton welcomed Howland for a nonconference matchup Jan. 3.

In a word, the Lady Warriors were brutally efficient as they dispatched the Tigers 63-45 to ring in the New Year with a victory. And nowhere was that more evident than in the play of guard Emma Shafer as she finished her evening shooting a blazing 9-of-11 from the field – and 3-of-4 from downtown – to lead Carrollton with 21 points.

The Lady Warriors were all over Howland as soon as the whistle commenced action, rampaging to a 12-5 lead after one quarter. Carrollton’s offense found its groove in the second period as the Lady Warriors outscored the Tigers 20-12 to take a 32-17 lead into halftime. 

As a team, Carrollton shot nearly 40 percent from the field, well ahead of Howland’s 31 percent. And the Lady Warriors were a cool 16-of-18 from the charity stripe as the Tigers never seriously threatened past the third quarter.

In addition to Shafer’s 21 points, Kamryn Shaw added 10 and Ivy Bishop and Katie Kuba contributed nine points apiece for Carrollton (7-4). Kuba was just one point away from a double-double as the sophomore led the Lady Warriors with 10 rebounds. Bishop added five boards and paced the team with four steals. Kylie Ujcich may have only scored four points but she distributed seven of Carrollton’s 11 assists.